STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Each year, EMTS and paramedics treat nearly 300,000 victims of cardiac arrest across the country. Perhaps you’ve heard the latest treatment being tested to help a greater percentage of these victims ultimately walk out of the hospital.
Several years back, rescuers and doctors discovered that victims suffering from hypothermia and thought to be dead — in some cases for extended periods of time — were successfully resuscitated with little or no brain damage.
This phenomenon occurs because when the body’s core temperature drops below the usual 98 degrees, metabolism slows down. Metabolism is simply the process of the cells using oxygen, glucose and other substances to get energy for cell function.
The brain cells are particularly in need of predictable metabolism and won’t survive too long if oxygen is denied for more than a few minutes, unless the need for the oxygen can be drastically reduced.
That’s the logic behind cooling the core of victims who have experienced cardiopulmonary arrest (cessation of breathing and heartbeat): Drop the core temperature and the brain’s demand for oxygen also will drop. The result is fewer damaged or dead brain cells if and when the patient is resuscitated.
LEARN TO DO CPR
Now more than ever, bystander CPR is needed. If you, as a witness to cardiac arrest, can begin chest compressions immediately, you can circulate enough blood to the brain to meet the oxygen demand until help arrives.
And, of course, the opposite is true as well: If someone’s heart stops and nobody begins CPR, within minutes the brain cells will begin to die. Doing CPR in those few precious minutes while waiting for EMTs and paramedics to arrive may be the most heroic thing you ever do.
When EMTs arrive, they will take over compressions and begin to deliver rescue breaths as well. They also carry an AED (defibrillator) designed to shock and restart certain lethal heart rhythms.
DROPPING CORE TEMPERATURE
When paramedics arrive, they will begin infusing icy fluids via an intravenous line (or a similar device placed into a bone). This fluid, up to 2 liters, will drop the core temperature and begin the preservation of brain cells.Other medication will then be given and the resuscitation efforts will continue.
It’s important for the layperson to understand the new chilled fluid treatment will only be useful if the patient still has brain function. That means that CPR (at least compressions or hands-only CPR) must be started immediately.
According to the American Heart Association, less than one-third of people suffering sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting actually receive bystander CPR. That means that even if someone calls 911 right away and the EMTs and paramedics respond promptly, say in under 5 minutes, precious brain cells already could be dead.
We can lower the core temperature, do perfect CPR, administer shocks, and push medications, but YOUR contribution, to truly make this newly added therapy work to its full capacity, is to start CPR right away.
Go online today. Take a few minutes of your time and browse the CPR courses available online. You can learn CPR in a 2-hour online session followed by a 30 minute hands-on session at a training center.
Now more than ever, bystander CPR can play a significant role in a cardiac arrest victim’s chance for survival.